PHOTO BY CODY ERBACHER
Field's T.J. Fox wrestles Rootstown's Ryan Zoller. Field leads the Portage Trail Conference tournament after the first day, while Rootstown leads the County division.
Aggressive wrestling put the Field Falcons in solid position on the first day of the Portage Trail Conference tournament Friday afternoon.
“We had a short spell where we probably could have had more of a physical presence on the mat,” Field coach Joe Retherford said. “We worked through that issue we had and now we’re wrestling at a much more confident level.”
Backed by six wrestlers advancing to Saturday’s semifinals round, the Falcons have secured themselves a first-place position after day one action.
The Falcons, who finished the day with 74 points, outlasted Crestwood (60) and Streetsboro (57).
“We came out with a good aggressive style and our heads on straight,” Rutherford said. “We wrestled well.”
T.J. Fox, who was the Division II state runner-up in the 140-pound weight class, the farthest any Portage County wrestler traveled through the postseason, rode two dominant victories en route to the quarterfinals.
“T.J.’s a tough kid, he’s very coachable,” Rutherford said. “He’s always in position to score and he doesn’t make mistakes and that’s what makes T.J. great.
“He doesn’t beat himself.”
Last season Field finished with its best finish ever in the PTC as the Falcons placed third overall.
Rootstown, who finished with 48 points, led all of the County Division teams with the sixth-place spot.
“I’d like to compete with the big boys eventually,” coach Craig Wise said. “But we’re ahead of the County schools so we’re doing our job.”
At last year’s tourney Rootstown, who entered the PTC in 2005, won its first PTC wrestling title, finishing fourth overall at the tournament.
Garrett Linton (171), who has been a state-qualifier for the past two seasons, led the Rovers during last year’s run.
Now Linton is ranked No. 1 in the state.
This year he’s wrestling at 195 but showing similar successes as he’s secured himself a position in the semifinals against Field’s Matt Hettick.
“They need to pick it up a little bit for sure,” Wise said. “The kids came out a little flat.”
Southeast finished as the second-place team for the County Division with three wrestlers set to compete in the quarterfinals.
“That’s kind of what we thought we would have had,” Southeast coach Bob Noall said. “It’s going pretty well, but it’s a long way from being over.”
The tournament continues at 10 a.m. Saturday at Rootstown.
Portage Trail Conference Wrestling Tournament
Day 1
Metro Division Standings
Field, 74
Crestwood, 60
Streetsboro, 57
Norton, 56
Coventry, 50.50
Country Division Standings
Rootstown, 48
Southeast, 38
Woodridge, 37.50
Garrattsville Garfield, 36.50
Waterloo, 36
Saturday’s Semifinal pairings
113
Crestwood’s Connor Nemec vs. Steetsboro’s Aaron Dantimo
Coventry’s Austin Shields vs. Field’s Logan Loft
120
Coventry’s Jesse Gunter vs. Streetsboro’s Chris Dynowski
Norton’s Allen Beddow vs. Field’s Jimmy Kubitza
126
Waterloo’s Nick Hermann vs. Streetsboro’s Zack Baratko
Crestwood’s Josh Hillier vs. Tyler Knepper
132
Crestwood’s Dylan Kager vs. Mogador’s Justin Chew
Coventry’s Keenan Davis vs. Norton’s Tyler Smith
138
Waterloo’s JJ Diven vs. Crestwood’s Nick Fejedelem
Field’s Zach Ladich vs. Streetboro’s Travis Smosny
145
Woodridge’s Alex Minns vs. Waterloo’s Josh Horning
Kent Roosevelt’s Brian Karavantas vs. Southeast’s James Sampson
152
Field’s T.J. Fox vs. Coventry’s Brandon Rang
Southeast’s Brandon James vs. Woodridge’s Brian Downs
160
Garrattsville Garfield’s Aaron Yonker vs. Field’s Andy Eckhart
Crestwood’s Sean Keefe vs. Southeast’s Tylor Brokaw
170
Rootstown’s Travis Linton vs. Springfield’s Andrew Hofer
Field’s Jacob Lawhorn vs. Kent Roosevelt’s John Spurney
182
Garrattsville Garfield’s Kevin Stock vs. Norton’s Sean Rutherford
Streetsboro’s Chris Ashburn vs. Coventry’s Dillon Hedrick
195
Rootstown’s Garrett Linton vs. Field’s Matt Hettick
Ravenna Justin Kyer vs. Norton’s Bradley Haramis
220
Streetsboro’s Bubba Baker vs. Waterloo’s Brandon Brenes
Woodridge’s Mason Hilling vs. Rootstown’s Jake Moore
285
Coventry’s Travis Gosnell vs. Streetsboro’s Sam Creque
Ravenna’s Cody Hawkins vs. Garrattsville Garfield’s Devin Dressler